READING

I. Choose the most suitable heading, I – XIII for each paragraph from the list of headings below.
A GLOBAL WARNING
A. The Stern Review Report on The Economics of Climate Change, published in 2006, the same year as Al Gores
highly acclaimed film and book, An inconvenient Tenets, make it clear that governments need to take the issue of
global warming very seriously indeed. The Stern Review examined the issue of climate change from an economic
perspective, looking at what it would cost the government to take appropriate action, and what it would cost if
appropriate action were not taken. The report also highlighted that a number of catastrophes that would occur if urgent
measures were not taken to stop the carbon dioxide production that is heating up the planet. The report indicates that in
the last 200 years, average temperatures on the planet have increased by less than one degree Celsius. However, if we
do not control also rising carbon dioxide levels over the next 100 yews, a rise of up to five degrees Celsius can be
expected. This will have an enormous impact on global economic growth and will cause many potentially disastrous
changes, including the following:
B. Melting glaciers - Beginning in the Andes, and then extending to the huge glaciers of the Himalayas, the ice
will begin to disappear, threatening the water supply of billions of people. Sea levels will also rise, flooding huge
areas of the world, including cities such as London and Tokyo.
C. Melting ice sheets – Not only will glaciers melt, but as the planet warms up, the huge Antarctic Ice Sheets and
the floating sea ice of the Arctic will begin to melt, again resulting in catastrophic rises in sea levels. It is
estimated that Arctic summers will be ice-free within 10 years and the landscapes of the Antarctic will change
beyond recognition by 2050. The vast ace plains of Greenland are also under threat.
D. The acidity resulting from the huge amounts of CO2 that the oceans will absorb will lead to the extinction of
hundreds of species as marine ecosystems are destroyed; this will also threaten the fishing industry as
thousands of millions of fish die off. This in turn will destiny the livelihood of thousands of fishing communities
that depend on already overfished coastal areas.
E. Accompanying the floods will be an increasing occurrence of droughts, with a decrease of up to 30% in water
availability in Africa and similar decreases in Australia. This will, of course, result in crop failure and malnutrition
the world over. Il will also lead to an increase in diseases, particularly in tropical regions. Large cities in dry
regions will find it increasingly difficult to provide enough water for their population.
F. Hurricanes, cyclones and tidal waves – Both Al Gores’ book and the Stern Review indicate that if global
temperatures continue to rise, we can expect a great number of extreme weather phenomena, of an increased
severity. Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the United States in 2005, is cited as just one example of the kind
of environmental and economic havoc that will result from unchecked global warming. Typhoons, which often
cause extensive flooding, are becoming more frequent and devastating in South East Asia.
G. Up to 50% of animal and plant species on the planet, beginning with those living in fragile environments such
as coral reefs, tropical rainforests and alpine tundra, will become instinct. Climate change will eventually affect
every ecosystem on the planet as temperatures increase, rainforest is destroyed and sea levels rise, leading to
flooding and drought. The impact on ecosystems will be so dramatic that they will never recover from the
damage caused by rising temperatures.
H. Does all this sound too depressing even to contemplate? Well, don’t despair if you are optimistic by nature,
there two approaches to tackling the problem of global warming you could take.
I. The first approach is to begin to act locally to do your bit to reduce CO2 emissions and minimize pollution, at
the same time hoping that governments will listen to the recommendations of the Stern Review, which, while
recognizing the seriousness of the threat, clearly indicates that if action is taken now, the right balance between
economic growth and environmental conservation may be achieved. The Report is significant, both is its scope
and its depth and it does offer positive outcome that allows economic growth to continue- so perhaps this will
convince governments to take the action necessary to save the planet from environmental and economic
disaster.
J. The second approach you could take, if you wish to remain optimistic, is to disregard the warnings of Al
Gores, the Stern Review team and other like-minded harbingers of doom, and instead opt for the much more
positive and less dramatic stance taken by very different group of scientists and economists. With its nominal
leader the Danish economist, Bjorn Lomborg, the Omgivelse group believes that many of the predictions of the
environmentalists are hugely exaggerated. Like Stern, Lomborg takes a pragmatic economic approach to the
environmental situation and argues for investment in environmental research and development rather than
“quick-fit” measures that would not, he claims, solve the problems. With significantly less investment than that
recommend in the Kyoto Accord or by the Stern Review Report, Lomborg believes the planet can be saved.
 List of headings Your answer
I. Long-term solutions 1. Paragraph A. X
II. A Balancing Act 2. Paragraph B. VII
III. Killing Wildlife 3. Paragraph C. V
IV. Extreme Weather 4. Paragraph D. VI
V. Water Crisis 5. Paragraph E. VIII
VI. Endangering Sea Life 6. Paragraph F. IV
VII. Sinking Cities 7. Paragraph G. III
VIII. Intensive Farming 8. Paragraph H. IX
IX. Trouble at the Poles 9. Paragraph I. II
X. Alarming Studies 10. Paragraph J I
XI. Two Outlooks
XII. Arctic Wildlife
XIII. Burning Coal
II. Fill in each of the following blanks with ONE suitable word
For years, environmentalists (1) __________ been warning us that the Earth is getting warmer. Most experts are
convinced that human (2) _________ are to blame. It seems that the more we pump greenhouse gases into the
atmosphere, the (3) ___________ the Earth’s atmosphere rises. Of course, we must do everything we can (4)
_________ save our planet from disasters.
Most of us are keen to get involved. Some of us walk to school because it is better for the environment (5)
___________ going by motorbikes. We try to remember to switch off lights and (6) _________ electronic applications
when we are not using them. So far, so good. None of this hurts too much.
Now a well-known campaigner has come (7) ___________ with a new suggestion. Aeroplanes generate huge amounts
of greenhouse gas emissions. Maybe, (8) __________ to the campaigner’s suggestion, it is (9) _________ we gave up
flying for pleasure and took out holiday at home instead. But are people prepared to change their (10) ___________ in
such a big way. Is it too much to ask?
III. Read the passage and choose the correct answer for each question.
Vietnam Likely to Face Extreme Weather Conditions by 2050
Vietnam is likely to continue facing extreme weather conditions such as higher temperatures, lower summer rainfalls,
stronger storms, and rising sea levels from now to 2050, experts said at a conference on high resolution weather
forecast in Hanoi Aug 22. Accordingly, temperatures in northern Vietnam will rise by between 0.83.4 degrees Celsius
by 2050 and continue its uptrend during the late 21st century. Summer rainfall will decline in most areas. Meanwhile,
storms may become rarer but fiercer, causing possible flash floods and landslides in flood-prone areas of northern
mountainous, central and central highland provinces. The forecasts suggest sea level rises of 100mm–400mm along
the entire Vietnamese coast by the end of 21st century, affecting marine biology and coastal communities. The experts
emphasize the unpredictability of climate change and its potential impacts to create a variety of dangerous extreme
weather events in the future.
To raise the public awareness of climate change impacts, the Vietnamese government urged concerned agencies to
work together on devising worst-case scenario models and responses by 2025 and called on international experts to
further support Vietnam in climate change adaptation. Climate change is a real threat to Vietnam’s socioeconomic
development. If sea level rises one meter, 5% of the country’s land, 11% of its population and 7% of its farmland
would be affected with the losses estimated at 10% of GDP.
1. By 2050, Viet Nam continues facing all of these extreme weather conditions EXCEPT ____________
A. higher temperature B. storms reaching record levels C. lower summer rainfalls D. rising sea levels
2. Sea level rises along the entire Vietnamese coast by the end of the 21 st century will ______________
A. cause certain flash floods and landslides in flood-prone areas
B. make temperatures in northern Viet Nam rise until 2050
C. make storms become rarer but fierce in the near future
D. have impacts on marine biodiversity and coastal communities.
3. To experts, they _______________ to predict exactly the model of the climate change and its potential impacts
A. are unable B. are likely C. are certain D. are surprised
4. Viet Nam needs _____________
A. to recognize Viet Nam’s socio-economic development in the future
B. to calculate sea level rise, loss of farmland and rise in population by 2025
C. to raise people’s awareness of climate change and to ask for foreign help
D. to recognize the percentage of farmland which would be affected by its population
5. The word worst-case scenario models in the last paragraph is closest in meaning to _____________
A. the worst scenes that could occur B. the worst climate change impacts that will happen
C. the worst possible things that could happen D. the worst unpredictability of climate change